In recent years, hunting wild game has become an ever popular sport as evidenced by the number of syndicated and local hunting shows televised weekly. Of the various types of game hunted for sport, deer hunting is one of the most popular and widespread.
The most common method for hunting deer today entails the use of a tree stand which the hunter uses to position himself in a tree between ten and thirty feet above the ground. In the tree stand, the hunter enjoys a greater view of the surrounding terrain in addition to having a substantially decreased chance of being spotted or scented by the deer.
Conventional tree stands are either assembled at the desired height within the tree once the hunter has climbed the tree, referred to as a wrap-around tree stand, or the tree stand itself is used by the hunter to climb the tree, referred to as a climber tree stand. Illustrative of a climber tree stand is U.S. Pat. No. 5,234,077 to Sheriff. Climber tree stands such as the one disclosed in Sheriff comprise dual frames, a top frame having a seat and a bottom frame for a foot rest. In operation, the two frames are used to climb up or down a tree by resting on the top frame and lifting the bottom frame and securing it to the tree just below the top frame. Then, raising the top frame to a next higher position and repeating. Alternatively, wrap-around tree stands require the hunter to climb the tree by either using spiked climbing boots or screwing spikes into the tree which the hunter uses to climb up the tree. Once the hunter has climbed to a desired height above the ground, he retrieves his hunting stand from the ground so that he may assemble it in the tree.
Because of the physical demands, it is often too difficult and dangerous for the hunter using a climber tree stand to carry his rifle, bow, duffle bag and/or other items with him as he ascends or descends a tree. Consequently, the hunter must leave his rifle, bow and/or duffle bag on the ground at the base of the tree and retrieve his gear once positioned in the tree stand. Presently, hunters typically use a clothes line or other light weight rope having sufficient strength to hoist their gear up to the tree stand. Typically, the hunter ties one end of the rope around his gear and carries the other end as he climbs up into the tree. Once secured in the tree stand at the desired height, the hunter hoists his gear hand over hand up into the tree. This method, however, imposes several disadvantages. First, the hunter's gear may be quite heavy and lifting it ten to thirty feet while situated on a somewhat unstable tree stand is not only difficult but often times dangerous. Secondly, lifting the gear hand over hand may be difficult on a cold or rainy day where there is a substantial chance of the rope slipping. Lastly, carrying around and storing the loose rope may impose problems because rope or line may become tangled to such a degree that the rope cannot be used to hoist or lower the hunter's gear.
Similarly, the hunter using a wrap-around tree stand must retrieve his stand from the ground once he has climbed up the tree to a desired height. Again, this is usually accomplished by tieing a rope or line to the tree stand and hoisting it up by hand into the tree. This is a substantial physical task in that most tree stands weigh between sixteen and thirty-five pounds, depending upon the tree stand's design and weight capacity.
Accordingly, it can be seen that it would be desirable to provide a tree stand winch apparatus and method for hoisting a hunter's tree stand, rifle, bow and/or duffle bag from the ground up into the tree where the hunter resides, and which is easy to use and provides the hunter with lifting power.